sixthiterationlogs | [MINGLE] Saints & Sinners Masquerade

[MINGLE] Saints & Sinners Masquerade

WHERE: Corn field next to the inn
WHEN: 31 October, all day and night
OPEN TO: ALL - MINGLE
WARNINGS: Please warn as appropriate in your subject lines
NOTES: Please make sure you have read and understand the event details! If you have questions, drop them here. RECOMMENDED BUT NOT REQUIRED: Put your SCRUBS COLOR in your OTA subject line for folks doing bingo. Time your OTA for the harvest feast, the masquerade, or both. Costume matches and details for folks who did not get matched are here.

This morning, our intrepid villagers awoke to a surprise of the nicer kind: A bundle of clothing left at the foot of their bed, tied with a bow. There is also a note: Put on your new outfit and join the festivities in the corn field next to the inn.

You may be thinking, what corn field next to the inn? The one that sprung up fully-mature overnight, of course.

In the middle of the field, villagers will find an autumn feast: Tables piled with harvest time food and drink, warm and rustic decorations, the day's sunshine fending off any chill in the air.

Tuck in and enjoy, villagers, but take note: Things often look different in the dark, and you might be one of them.

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Vanille definitely hasn't been here long enough to be too suspicious of grand feasts like this. Even if she had, that's more Fang's thing than Vanille's. The cheerful redhead is more than happy to be the life of the party if anyone can stand being around her for long enough. She enjoys the feast, chatting up anyone nearby, and even her costume doesn't seem to get her down too much. At least at first. She's mostly confused by it, having no idea about the concept of Halloween, let alone any of the costume references. At least the large red and black suit is warm enough for the night.

She does, however, take the opportunity to walk up to anyone unsuspecting, particularly if she knows them. "Do you understand the change in dress? Because I don't."

Her puppy Raine comes with her, happily running around or playing fetch or generally being an adorable ball of merle-colored energy for most of the evening. Eventually, she ends up cradling him in her arms, the puppy having exhausted himself, though he's still happy to wag his stump of a tail at anyone who comes over for pets.

Edited 2018-10-31 02:09 (UTC)

It isn't until Elena spots Vanille in her costume that she realizes why her own costume is a priest instead of a nun. She's never seen a movie where a nun does an Exorcism or anything like that, anyway, and everyone else's costumes have seemed to come in pairs, too.

She's wearing a grin as she walks over, having been here long enough to know that there are definitely people here who wouldn't know about Halloween.

"It's this weird holiday back home where everyone dresses up and pretends to be someone else for the night. There's parties and kids knock on neighbors doors and get candy.

It looks like we're a matched pair tonight."

No doubt she'll need to explain that, too.

That just sounds like the weirdest holiday to Vanille. It also sounds like something they would do on Cocoon, though. Life on Gran Pulse never afforded many luxuries like holidays revolving around candy. They had their own, both holidays and candy, but she has a feeling the things she's used to aren't what Cocoon is used to or what this girl is talking about.

"Is there a reason for all of that?" she asks, tilting her head curiously. "We are? What are we supposed to be?"

Her costume looks like it could be some kind of weird Cie'th, but she's not sure about the other girl's.

"I'm sure there was at some point. I think it was originally called All Hallows Eve but whatever they used to celebrate back then has been totally changed over the years."

She's pretty sure the same thing has happened with most holidays. Christmas. Easter. They all were a little weird considering the original reason behind them.

"I'm a priest which is like a religious leader. You look like you're a demon or something that I would be trying to get rid of in a horror movie."

"I guess that makes sense," Vanille muses, lifting a hand thoughtfully to her chin. "Things do change over time, even if you're really good at keeping track of things." Especially if there are any fal'Cie nearby and there are always fal'Cie around, ready to make their little l'Cie to do their dirty work for them.

"Oh, is that like something you would watch on TV?" She's slowly getting the hang of Cocoon terms. They had electricity in Oerba, but not exactly at the same level as on Cocoon and nothing they had in the way of entertainment was ever like Cocoon's. "So I guess that makes us a matched pair. Wonder why we got these?" If there's any reasoning behind the choices at all.

Hawke is still a bit furious about the fake armor. It's rubbing it in that she has none of her own, and besides that, she isn't wearing much of anything compared to her normal modesty. But there's really good food and rum, so. Whatever. She's on her third plate of food and at least fourth rum, but she has a high tolerance. And the cold may be very well kept at bay by the liquor.

"Think it's a festival? Maybe?" She answers Vanille uncertainly, around bites of food. "I've seen people dress up in masquerades and all that, but this shit is mad." The forcing part is not alright. She could've stormed off by now. She looks down and gasps when she sees Raine, pretty much immediately going down on her knees to say hello. And accidentally dumping food on the ground for him to eat if he feels like snatching it. "Hello, hello, you are so cute. Look at your little wiggle." Hawke loves dogs.

The food does look good. Vanille has to admit that. She still isn't sure this isn't all just a big fal'Cie thing, one of their attempts to get their errant l'Cie back in hand, but for the moment she's pushing all of her pain and worry well to the side. For now, she can at least pretend to be fine, even if she isn't really.

"I guess so," she says uncertainly. Maybe it's a festival of some kind. She doesn't know what kind though. But hey, Raine steals the lady's attention and that is okay with Vanille. Less to worry with at any rate. She smiles as she watches the interaction, sighing with good nature as the puppy immediately snatches what he can of the dropped morsels. "His name is Raine. I'm trying to train him to be a herding dog, but he's too young for anything really intense yet."

"He'll get there, won't you, love?" she coos at Raine. "I was lucky that my breed of dog is exceptionally good at training, almost from birth. He's this giant beast dog who is basically a wiggly snuggler." Hawke feels a pang of pain at the reality she'll definitely never see him. Other people from home, maybe, but it doesn't sound like people get pets at all. He's fine though, he's with Bethany. They'll look after one another.

She glances up at the young woman thoughtfully, getting back to her feet. Most of her food managed to stay on the plate, and she plucked her drink up on the way. "You seem worried, love. It doesn't appear like this is anything other than them forcing us into get ups. Unless you know something I don't."

Raine barks happily and wriggles his stump of a tail in response. Of course, this has the effect of wriggling his entire back end at first, as the excitement works its way up to the entire puppy. Vanille giggles, lifting her hands to cover her smile.

"He's doing really well for his age," she admits. "I just don't want to push him too much." There's no good in overworking or over-training any animal, especially one she needs to help her with her other animals.

The quiet observation has her pausing for a bit as she debates how much to admit. She's been opening up a bit more than usual lately and so far no one's come back screaming about l'Cie paranoia. So maybe it's okay to talk about. For another moment, she lets her gaze take in Raine again, studying the happy way he peers up at them, before her brow creases a little and she looks back up at the other woman.

"I've heard of things happening here," she says slowly, "but it's just.. at home, the fal'Cie might do something like this, give people something nice, and then..." She shrugs, almost helplessly. "Nothing is ever just for fun. I can't shake the feeling that something bad's gonna happen."

It's absolutely adorable. The best kinds of dogs were the wiggly butt ones. They lived with the type of exuberance everyone should aim for, in her opinion. "No, that's a good idea. Puppies still have to puppy." Kids have to be kids too. Eventually everyone grows up and gets responsible. Ish.

Hawke waits for the girl to decide whether she wants to answer or not. She sees the wheels turning, and she's not likely to push if the other person avoids whatever's on their mind. That's a specialty of hers, so she's not one to talk. She listens to Vanille's explanation and nods. "Yeah, few things in any life come free or cheap. I'm sure there's a reason why it's happening that isn't nice at all, but I don't think anything's going to pop out. I have a very good gut for danger, and the only thing my gut is telling me is that this quality of food won't be around forever."

She's being absolutely serious. Hawke has a sixth sense for trouble. It's something she attracts no matter where she goes. It hasn't happened here yet, but it's early. "The Fal'Cies sound like pricks, and I don't think you're wrong that whoever's running this show is a prick too. But you'll be safe either way. You've got a lot of dangerous people around in case of trouble, myself included. Don't let the terrible costume fool you."

Responsible-ish is definitely right. No one likes full responsibility anyway. It usually leads to guilty feelings.

Vanille manages a small smile at first, as Hawke begins reassuring her, and eventually that smile brightens into something larger. It's not huge and all-encompassing, but it's much better than her expression previously. Nothing will be able to fully wipe all of her worries and cares away. This is as good as it might get and for now Vanille will take it. Hawke's efforts will not go unappreciated.

"Yeah!" she chirps, channeling as much happiness as she can. "You're right. I have plenty of people who can help me." Just like Sazh used to do. And all the others she met on Cocoon. Hopefully, there aren't any fal'Cie like Barthandelus behind all of this. And hopefully, this is just one big party with weird costumes.

"Thanks," she offers next, still smiling. "Just for that, you can pay attention to Raine as long as you like!" She would have offered that anyway. Now she's just trying to make a new friend.

What a sweet smile! Hawke's fairly certain a smile that bright could knock someone off their feet if they're not prepared. Her own mirrors it, always glad to turn someone's bad moment into something else. Vanille is a lot easier to brighten up than some of the sour pusses she's used to. "That's right you do! Look around. Ridiculous clothes or not, this is a group of people who could kick some serious arse." Hawke gestures to the others there. They have some intellectuals, yes, but they're all more competent than she'd expect.

She laughs and scratches Raine's ears. "Oh, well, if I have permission now, Raine'll get more than you bargained for." Hawke really and truly misses her pup and she hopes that Bethany remembers to sneak him treats and hug him more than a few times a day. Her sister wasn't nearly as indulgent as she is, but hope springs eternal. She wonders if she'll get a pet eventually; Annie has her geese and this girl has Raine. Frank had a dog too. She's seen other animals wandering about.

"I'm Hawke."

There really are plenty of adults and strong people here to help. Plenty of people to take over and protect a kid like her, even if she really is capable of taking care of herself sometimes. It's nice to know that there are people who will help, who aren't going to turn tail and run. That thought makes her all the more appreciative for the friends and acquaintances she has here in Fang's absence. No one will be quite like Fang, but they'll be good in the meantime.

"Vanille," she chirps in response. As if in response to the both of them, Raine pushes forward, standing a little on his back legs so he can reach Hawke enough to try to lick her face. Vanille lifts her hands to her mouth to cover her delighted giggle. "I think he likes you. And I know he doesn't mind the extra attention."

Hawke has a soft spot for the vulnerable and sweet types. It's why she let Merrill get away with so much, and it probably comes from being an eldest sibling. To this moment Bethany could give her a wide eyed look and she'd crumble without more than some grumbling. She's protective by nature, and she gets the sense this girl needs some of it. Oh well fine then, another little birdie to pull under her big hawk wing. She doesn't mind. Bethany's well past grown and doesn't need a big sister now anyway.

"Nice to meet you, Vanille. And Raine." Hawke laughs and pets him, scratching his ears and that good spot on his wiggly butt that dogs loved. "My monster pup Faust takes up half a bed himself, so of course you know he acts like he's dainty and slides under the covers. He could smother me in my sleep! Hates to go out in the rain like it's going to kill him." Now when she needs him, he can get it together and be a terrifying guard dog, but other than that, he has his own personality. Bloody hell she is not going to get weepy over her dog. Nope. She swallowed that right down. "My sister has him now, she's so much stricter than I am."

Something familiar in the woman's words and demeanor tugs on Vanille. Hawke reminds her a bit of Fang and the realization makes her miss Fang all the more. She pushes that aside, squatting down next to the two of them and fluffing her puppy's fur affectionately. Raine responds with a massive lick up her face, making her giggle. Yep, she definitely needed that.

"I haven't found much that Raine doesn't like," she muses. "The box he was in turned up on a rainy day, so that's how he got his name." Raine licks at Hawke's fingers this time, seeming to lap up the attention eagerly. Vanille smiles, happy to have the puppy as a source of levity and happiness. She pauses for a moment and then adds on in a tone that's quiet with sympathy, "I bet your sister loves him just as much. Fang would complain about having more animals brought home, but she loved them too. It's probably the same for your sister."

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championofsnark - 2018-12-20 01:10 (UTC) - Expand

Phryne's costume is, at the very least, somewhat more immediately understandable. True, she doesn't expect that everyone will get the finer details, but there's enough generally regal sentiment for the basic concept to still come through, or so she'd hope. If people should happen to assume queen rather than king, that's not any of her concern and she doesn't care enough to correct people either.

She does, however, stop when she happens to catch Vanille's question.

"I can't say that I'm familiar with that particular costume, if that's what you were asking. But if you were looking for something a little less specific... are you familiar with the idea of masquerades?"

She's hoping at least some of the concept will be familiar. If only because it'll make things significantly easier to explain. But if not, she'll deal with it. Even if she might not necessarily be the best at it.

Vanille's first thought is more along the line of Primarch and that leads her to fal'Cie. Ruler of some sort, yeah. It sends a shiver coursing down her back, but she shoves it away and glues on her smile again. No use in letting anything get her down again. The last thing she wants is to go around spilling her past and secrets again.

"Um..." The way her voice trails off and the slightly puzzled look on her face suggest that she isn't. "My village didn't have parties like this." And she wasn't on Cocoon quite long enough to pick out whether or not they did. "Does it have to do with costumes and pretending to be something you're not?"

Even despite the fact that Vanille does her best to shove away the shiver that runs down her spine and plaster her smile back one, Phryne absolutely notices her discomfort. She's not going to ask about it just yet - and doesn't have the context for why the idea of rulers might not be a comfortable one - but she notices it, even if she turns the majority of her attention to the question of masquerades are supposed to be.

"Essentially, yes. Although pretending isn't strictly necessary. Just the dressing up."

Vanille is grateful that the woman doesn't ask. At this point, she doesn't want to talk too much about her own misgivings, especially with a stranger. Not that she usually isn't a good judge of character, but she's still getting a feel for this place and how much she can actually admit to with her past. She doesn't really want to find out the hard way that someone knows what a l'Cie is after all.

"So I guess it's something done for fun?" she asks thoughtfully, lifting her hand to her chin for a moment. "Is there a certain celebration going on? Or do people just decide to have masquerades whenever they want?"

"It can be either. Sometimes people simply feel like having a night of dressing up, although masquerades are usually less common that normal parties even then."

Possibly because of the fact that there's more effort that goes into them, if only on account of the fact that people need to find or otherwise come up with costumes. Not to mention the effort that can be involved in bringing one's costume to the particular venue that's been chosen for the party.

"In this case, however, I would imagine that it's because of the closeness to, well, consider it a sort of harvest festival. One that's evolved a good deal from its initial roots, yes. But it is about the season for that kind of thing all the same."

Vanille nods thoughtfully. She's heard a few things about this particular party, but she always likes to hear more. Sometimes other perspectives can help her make sense of what happens here. Or anywhere that isn't Gran Pulse. She can understand the concept of a harvest festival, though.

"It's not based on a harvest festival anymore?" she asks curiously. "I wonder why..." Glancing around doesn't get her any closer to that answer, though, so she decides to just turn it all into a social event.

"Thanks for answering my questions!" she chirps brightly. Maybe she'll have another friend by the end of the night.

"Not as much, no. Although I'll admit that I'm not precisely the best of people to ask."

She is... very loosely aware of the history of Halloween, yes. But only in so much as that she's aware of the concept of All Hallows' Eve, even if the actual celebrations have rather distinctly taken a turn away from that particular holiday.

"As it currently stands, Halloween is largely about having an excuse to dress up and enjoy oneself at parties. Although typically there's more choice involved."

And somewhat fewer unexpected transformations besides, although she figures that probably goes without saying.

"Huh. Sounds like fun!" Vanille chirps. As usual, she appears to take everything at face value, not letting her ignorance or lack of knowledge get in the way of her enjoying things. She has a gift for pulling information from people, despite how oblivious she can seem. "Maybe sometime we can dress up on our own! Choose what you want to use." It can't be too hard, right?

"What sort of costume would you wear, if you had a choice?"

Taking things at face value and not letting a lack of familiarity with things get in one's way are very much things that Phryne can understand. She doesn't always do so herself, in both cases, but she can certainly understand doing so all the same. Not to mention she's perfectly willing to keep explaining besides, should Vanille want. It's not like it's any great hardship, after all, and she certainly doesn't mind in the slightest besides.

"We'd need to have something to dress up in, but other that I don't see any reason why we couldn't."

It might take a little more work here than it might anywhere else, yes. But that doesn't mean that it's going to be particularly hard, either.

"And that depends on the occasion, of course. Although the last time I was at a party like this, I was Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile."

"I don't have much of a wardrobe yet," Vanille muses, wondering what kind of costumes she could even make at this point. "I wonder if I got enough wool from my llamas, would I be able to pretend I am one?" She giggles at the idea, lifting her hands to her mouth... and promptly hitting her mask. "Oops!"

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[MINGLE] Saints & Sinners Masquerade

oerba dia vanille | feast/masquerade | ota | team hunter green

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